UC Hastings Students Taking Questions Forum

[lisavj]

http://abovethelaw.com/2013/08/the-char ... terrified/

Winter is coming!!


Here?

[Mick Haller]

Agree with everything hiima3L said except his use of the word decimated. Legal hiring was cut more like 40-50%, not by a tenth.

Not sure if trolling . . .

Just kidding and being annoyingly pedantic

[hiima3L]

Agree with everything hiima3L said except his use of the word decimated. Legal hiring was cut more like 40-50%, not by a tenth.

Not sure if trolling . . .

Just kidding and being annoyingly pedantic

Today I learned that decimated means literally kill 1/10 of a group of troops as punishment for the whole.

Kind of relevant to the current legal market.

[Lasers]

all i can and will say is this: unless you're getting significant money at hastings, it shouldn't be an option. if i were to do everything over again, i would have sat out a cycle, retook the lsat, and reapplied the next year. hastings/davis wouldn't even have been in my calculus knowing what i know now.

[Moonlight]

all i can and will say is this: unless you're getting significant money at hastings, it shouldn't be an option. if i were to do everything over again, i would have sat out a cycle, retook the lsat, and reapplied the next year. hastings/davis wouldn't even have been in my calculus knowing what i know now.

What is significant money at Hastings? Btw anyone know of the highest offer in recent years from Hastings? It seems like they tend not to offer too much?

[hiima3L]

all i can and will say is this: unless you're getting significant money at hastings, it shouldn't be an option. if i were to do everything over again, i would have sat out a cycle, retook the lsat, and reapplied the next year. hastings/davis wouldn't even have been in my calculus knowing what i know now.

What is significant money at Hastings? Btw anyone know of the highest offer in recent years from Hastings? It seems like they tend not to offer too much?

"Significant money" depends entirely on your personal circumstances. As a UC, they don't seem to offer a whole lot.

I second Lasers's comment. When I was applying ('08), UCH was (arguably) doing fine from the info that was readily available. That is simply not the case anymore by any metric. I would not even bothering applying now.

[deebanger]

all i can and will say is this: unless you're getting significant money at hastings, it shouldn't be an option. if i were to do everything over again, i would have sat out a cycle, retook the lsat, and reapplied the next year. hastings/davis wouldn't even have been in my calculus knowing what i know now.

What is significant money at Hastings? Btw anyone know of the highest offer in recent years from Hastings? It seems like they tend not to offer too much?

"Significant money" depends entirely on your personal circumstances. As a UC, they don't seem to offer a whole lot.

I second Lasers's comment. When I was applying ('08), UCH was (arguably) doing fine from the info that was readily available. That is simply not the case anymore by any metric. I would not even bothering applying now.

[Dingo Starr]

Totally off-topic:
What kind of beer is typically offered on the Beach?

[DildaMan]

all i can and will say is this: unless you're getting significant money at hastings, it shouldn't be an option. if i were to do everything over again, i would have sat out a cycle, retook the lsat, and reapplied the next year. hastings/davis wouldn't even have been in my calculus knowing what i know now.

What is significant money at Hastings? Btw anyone know of the highest offer in recent years from Hastings? It seems like they tend not to offer too much?

Significant money is a full ride. My buddy was offered a full ride but he got into UCB so...

[DildaMan]

I have a different view on a lot of the past several comments. I'm not calling anyone a liar, but the same people can view the same situation differently.

So what do you think of the new rank? And also what do you think of the reported 30% employed at graduation? I'm seriously considering Hastings, although I think USC may take me so would love your thoughts on that as well. Thanks

I'm not thrilled with the ratings drop, though I'm somewhat relieved as I thought it would be much steeper. I'm reasonably certain the ratings will recover because the drop was caused by a preposterously large class size in 2012 (it's smaller now), and there's reason to believe that the class of 2013 did better employment-wise than 2012 did (based on the NLJ's early numbers, as cited by Dean Wu in the above link).

As for the 30% employed at graduation, I'd be really careful with that because it's not an ABA statistic, so there's no guarantee of uniformity across schools. In general there are good jobs that will get you employment at graduation (biglaw/article III clerkships), questionable jobs that will give you employment at graduation (state/non-article III clerkships), and good jobs that will not make an offer of employment pre-graduation (many prosecutor and PD offices). Without a breakdown, and without knowing what "employed at graduation" means, it's hard to see it as useful (Does it count people that are employed at Starbucks while studying for the bar? What about people working internships at prosecutor's offices that are known to lead to post-bar employment, do they count as employed?).

As for USC, if you read the rest of this post, you can probably guess my opinion: if you care about being in NorCal, it's a close call, but if you just want a job, then go for USC. I personally know people who went to UCLA thinking they could get employed in NorCal, and it worked out for exactly none of them. This isn't to say that it never happens, but you'd basically have to be in the top 10% of your class, and if you're top 10% at Hastings you can usually work in NorCal anyway, so it's hard for me to see it as anything other than a wash. Again, though, if you're just focused on being a lawyer, go to USC.

I'm currently at USC. You can come up for non-OCI interviews or express interest in the Nor-Cal offices when doing OCI. There aren't too many USC alums in Nor-Cal, but the few were very helpful. I know of at least 4 students that were up here for SA's in SF/SV; they weren't in the top 10%. We actually don't get our ranking until graduation. We currently just have top 10% cutoff GPA. With that said, it is infinitely easier to get a SA in LA.

[rebelx13]

all i can and will say is this: unless you're getting significant money at hastings, it shouldn't be an option. if i were to do everything over again, i would have sat out a cycle, retook the lsat, and reapplied the next year. hastings/davis wouldn't even have been in my calculus knowing what i know now.

There should be a ctrl+z for life.

[scottiescruff]

Is 18K usually the max amount for merit/need-based grants or has anyone here received or negotiated for more than that?

[OneMoreLawHopeful]

Is 18K usually the max amount for merit/need-based grants or has anyone here received or negotiated for more than that?

I received more post-1L, but not pre-1L

[scottiescruff]

Is 18K usually the max amount for merit/need-based grants or has anyone here received or negotiated for more than that?

I received more post-1L, but not pre-1L

Okay, that's good to know. Thanks!

[Moonlight]

Does anyone get more scholarship after committing? I'm holding off committing until I get the final offers...

[scottiescruff]

Semi-frivolous/semi-pertinent question: is the printing free or is there a fee for printing on campus? If there is a fee, how much?

[kapital98]

Semi-frivolous/semi-pertinent question: is the printing free or is there a fee for printing on campus? If there is a fee, how much?

They automatically charge you $30 per semester for printing. You dont get the money back if you dont use it

[a male human]

Semi-frivolous/semi-pertinent question: is the printing free or is there a fee for printing on campus? If there is a fee, how much?

They automatically charge you $30 per semester for printing. You dont get the money back if you dont use it

Since when? I don't think I had this charge back in 2013. This is pretty shady of them if it's true.

[SFSpartan]

If they have an automatic charge, I'm not seeing it on my student account. However, printing is 10¢ per page B/W, unless you are printing cases off the Lexis printer. Any research printed off the Lexis printer is free.

[kapital98]

Semi-frivolous/semi-pertinent question: is the printing free or is there a fee for printing on campus? If there is a fee, how much?

They automatically charge you $30 per semester for printing. You dont get the money back if you dont use it

Since when? I don't think I had this charge back in 2013. This is pretty shady of them if it's true.

They had it for both semesters I was there. It's included in one of your extra charges (not tuition). $30 each semester. You don't use it, you lose it. It's really sneaky and cheap. After you run out of the $30 you can buy more. If you don't buy more, you can't print more (I've run out before). It's possible things have changed in the last 2 years but unlikely.

Lexis/Westlaw printers are free but only for school purposes and only available at specific printers. It's a pain in the neck to use depending on where you study.

[Moonlight]

Can any of you Hastings students or grads, speak of how your 1st year's Fall and Spring term schedule was?

Like not the courses you took because I know those are set in stone, but I mean like what time slots you had classes usually and which days of the week. (i.e. Monday 9-10am Torts; 2pm to 3pm Con Law) I want to get a feeling for it and also to see if I should get monthly parking.

Thanks!

[kapital98]

Can any of you Hastings students or grads, speak of how your 1st year's Fall and Spring term schedule was?

Like not the courses you took because I know those are set in stone, but I mean like what time slots you had classes usually and which days of the week. (i.e. Monday 9-10am Torts; 2pm to 3pm Con Law) I want to get a feeling for it and also to see if I should get monthly parking.

Thanks!

My fall semester was excellent:

Monday-Thursday: 10-12am Class; 1-3pm Class.
LRW on Monday nights.

Spring semester was all screwed up. I can't remember it off the top of my head.

[Moonlight]

Can any of you Hastings students or grads, speak of how your 1st year's Fall and Spring term schedule was?

Like not the courses you took because I know those are set in stone, but I mean like what time slots you had classes usually and which days of the week. (i.e. Monday 9-10am Torts; 2pm to 3pm Con Law) I want to get a feeling for it and also to see if I should get monthly parking.

Thanks!

My fall semester was excellent:

Monday-Thursday: 10-12am Class; 1-3pm Class.
LRW on Monday nights.

Spring semester was all screwed up. I can't remember it off the top of my head.

Oh wow that's pretty nice! Off on Fridays! Sounds like I need the monthly parking pass. Do you know if its guaranteed spot if we get a monthly parking pass?

Thanks!

[hiima3L]

Can any of you Hastings students or grads, speak of how your 1st year's Fall and Spring term schedule was?

Like not the courses you took because I know those are set in stone, but I mean like what time slots you had classes usually and which days of the week. (i.e. Monday 9-10am Torts; 2pm to 3pm Con Law) I want to get a feeling for it and also to see if I should get monthly parking.

Thanks!

My fall semester was excellent:

Monday-Thursday: 10-12am Class; 1-3pm Class.
LRW on Monday nights.

Spring semester was all screwed up. I can't remember it off the top of my head.

Mine was essentially the same.

I think there is a lucky LRW section or two that doesn't have class during BOB on Thursdays. Man, I miss BOB.

[ilovesf]

Can any of you Hastings students or grads, speak of how your 1st year's Fall and Spring term schedule was?

Like not the courses you took because I know those are set in stone, but I mean like what time slots you had classes usually and which days of the week. (i.e. Monday 9-10am Torts; 2pm to 3pm Con Law) I want to get a feeling for it and also to see if I should get monthly parking.

Thanks!

My fall semester was excellent:

Monday-Thursday: 10-12am Class; 1-3pm Class.
LRW on Monday nights.

Spring semester was all screwed up. I can't remember it off the top of my head.

Didn't we have civ pro on friday mornings or something?

BTW, re: free printing, if you end up doing a journal, some of them have free printing, at least mine does.